California Culture: Circa 2000

[PrivateTim]

The Gentrification of Skid Row

 

Skid Row, according to the article, is rather resistant to any real gentrification attempts.

 

Why are you reading a British newspaper to find out what is going on in Los Angeles?

 

I stopped reading after the first line.

 

 

In the centre of one of the world’s most high-profile cities lies a concentration of desperate poverty unlike any other in the developed world.

 

What unadulterated bullshit. I've been to Liverpool, East London, Glasgow, La Courneuve Paris and other slums in European cities that are massive compared to the tiny sliver that Skid Row is and there many worse spots in the U.S.

[methodwriter85]

Our people are prettier though. I'll take that instead.

 

I do think if any place can compete with L.A. on that score, it's Dallas, Texas. Seriously, I don't get why it seems like so many hunky guys come from that area. Maybe it's just because jock culture is king there? I mean, there's a reason why Abercrombie and Fitch is based there.

 

Texans do seem similar to Californians in liking their outdoor, active lifestyles and tans, so maybe that's it?

Edited June 15, 2015 by methodwriter85

[jkeele777]

I do think if any place can compete with L.A. on that score, it's Dallas, Texas. Seriously, I don't get why it seems like so many hunky guys come from that area. Maybe it's just because jock culture is king there? I mean, there's a reason why Abercrombie and Fitch is based there.

 

Texans do seem similar to Californians in liking their outdoor, active lifestyles and tans, so maybe that's it?

 

 

I'm not sure why there are so many hot guys in the Dallas/Ft Worth area, but we do seem to have plenty! Maybe because there are so many major universities in the area? I mean, we have a huge UT campus, SMU, TCU, UNT, and there are a ton of smaller satellite schools here. There are also a ton of major companies headquartered here that attract young executives, and we're in a major construction boom and at the end of a major oil & natural gas boom, so that has brought in the blue collar hotties.

[methodwriter85]

 

That is pretty damn cool. What incredible timing for the video that the city just happened to have workers weld the doors shut.

Edited June 17, 2015 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

Hey, Blue, was "slapping the bag" popular when you were in college? For those of you who don't know what that is, it's when you take the boxed wine bag out of the box, slap the bag, and then chug directly from the nozzle. It seems to have become increasingly popular in the last few years with bro-types on the East Coast, but I found a reference to it on Urban Dictionary from 2005.

 

I don't remember seeing it during my college years of 2005 to 2010, but I wonder if people who went to colleges in other areas heard of it. I first encountered it in 2012 at the first Firefly.

[methodwriter85]

On another note...I found this Let's Not Meet story on Reddit, and it made me think of you, Blue, and your bit about the rape culture of UCSB:

 

Terrorized for Two Hours

 

The story takes place at UCSB...I thought it was interesting that she talked about how the students often put themselves in danger there because that was the culture.

 

Anyway, University of Delaware used to be a party school, way back in the 1990's, but they slammed down hard on it- all of the big drunken outdoor music fests were banned by the time I finished in 2010, and a lot of big frats were kicked off. It doesn't seem like UCSB has changed much. I kind of get why former party schools crack down it, but I also think that if you try and shelter young adults at the time they're supposed to be learning how to be an adult and what their limits are, you really short-change them.

 

I wonder if Will would wind up going there. Honestly, while he's social and can throw a big rager, that doesn't really seem like his life, and I'm not sure he'd fit into a party school because of that. Will really doesn't strike me as a future frat boy the way John screams it.

Edited July 8, 2015 by methodwriter85

[Mark Arbour]

On another note...I found this Let's Not Meet story on Reddit, and it made me think of you, Blue, and your bit about the rape culture of UCSB:

 

Terrorized for Two Hours

 

The story takes place at UCSB...I thought it was interesting that she talked about how the students often put themselves in danger there because that was the culture.

 

Anyway, University of Delaware used to be a party school, way back in the 1990's, but they slammed down hard on it- all of the big drunken outdoor music fests were banned by the time I finished in 2010, and a lot of big frats were kicked off. It doesn't seem like UCSB has changed much. I kind of get why former party schools crack down it, but I also think that if you try and shelter young adults at the time they're supposed to be learning how to be an adult and what their limits are, you really short-change them.

 

I wonder if Will would wind up going there. Honestly, while he's social and can throw a big rager, that doesn't really seem like his life, and I'm not sure he'd fit into a party school because of that. Will really doesn't strike me as a future frat boy the way John screams it.

 

You realize, of course, that stories like this are quite possibly not true, right? 

[methodwriter85]

You realize, of course, that stories like this are quite possibly not true, right? 

 

You're no fun, Mark.

[methodwriter85]

Two Train Lines Connecting Azusa to Santa Monica Enters Final Testing Stage

 

That sounds cool. I've always wanted to visit Southern California but 12-lane highways terrify me. I still can't get myself to drive on I-95.

Edited July 10, 2015 by methodwriter85

[B1ue]

Hey, Blue, was "slapping the bag" popular when you were in college? For those of you who don't know what that is, it's when you take the boxed wine bag out of the box, slap the bag, and then chug directly from the nozzle. It seems to have become increasingly popular in the last few years with bro-types on the East Coast, but I found a reference to it on Urban Dictionary from 2005.

I have never heard of that practice. That doesn't mean it didn't happen, but I never encountered it.

 

You realize, of course, that stories like this are quite possibly not true, right? 

Well, its possible that the story was made up. On the other hand, living in IV was when i started to sleep with a weapon within arm's reach, and not just for the hell of it. When I lived on frat row, we had a couple randoms wander into our apartment. It wasn't a constant threat, but it happened more than once.

 

Also, my roommate that year was really fucking weird. I got along fine with him, but did not fully trust him.

 

 

Two Train Lines Connecting Azusa to Santa Monica Enters Final Testing Stage

 

That sounds cool. I've always wanted to visit Southern California but 12-lane highways terrify me. I still can't get myself to drive on I-95.

 

Honestly, Clueless really did not paint an accurate picture of someone driving on the freeway for the first time. It's nothing to be overly concerned with, and pretty quickly becomes routine.

 

If you ever do, I recommend driving an automatic though. A manual clutch is pretty tiring during stop-and-go traffic.

Edited July 10, 2015 by B1ue

[methodwriter85]

I have never heard of that practice. That doesn't mean it didn't happen, but I never encountered it.

 

I mean, I'd ask Tim, but it seems relatively new, and his college days were in the 1990's. Like I said, I didn't encounter "slapping the bag" until 2012 at Firefly. Most bro-types I know didn't touch boxed wine but this seems to be a way that those guys will consume it.

 

It must have been some fringe thing that people were doing, enough so that it made Urban Dictionary, but it didn't become mainstream until this decade.

 

Well, its possible that the story was made up. On the other hand, living in IV was when i started to sleep with a weapon within arm's reach, and not just for the hell of it. When I lived on frat row, we had a couple randoms wander into our apartment. It wasn't a constant threat, but it happened more than once.

 

Also, my roommate that year was really fucking weird. I got along fine with him, but did not fully trust him.

 

UCSB sounds like an intense party school. Way more intense than UD ever was. I mean, we've never even had a concentrated frat row. (Or if we did, it all got broken up by the time I got there.) Of course, we're located in a NIMBY state where people bitch and moan about every possible little thing, especially when it comes to the students that allows Newark, DE to look like a Disney Town U.S.A. instead of a depressed rust belt town.  I mean, a 1 a.m. last call? Seriously? And no actual bars allowed on Main Street? (They have to be restaurants that can only make 40 percent of their revenue from alcohol.) It sounds like Santa Barbara just lets it be.

 

Will's going into his senior year...I wonder if Mark will send him to a party school. I can kind of see it, and I can kinda not see it.

[methodwriter85]

I was watching T.V. tonight, and on 20/20 they had this crazy story about what was called the real-life "Gone Girl" kidnapping case, from Vallejo,California. Basically, a beautiful blonde woman disappeared from her home, with her live-in boyfriend claiming that she was kidnapped. Days later, she was found safe at her father's home in Huntington Beach, and soon, people started to question whether or not it was a hoax.

 

However, it turned out to be very real...she was kidnapped by a crazed former lawyer who apparently was using her as a test run in learning how to kidnap more prominent people.

 

 

This is so batshit crazy. Wow.

[methodwriter85]

Honestly, Clueless really did not paint an accurate picture of someone driving on the freeway for the first time. It's nothing to be overly concerned with, and pretty quickly becomes routine.

 

BTW, Clueless came out 20 years ago today, Blue. Let that sink in. God, we're old. I still remember wanting badly to see it in the movie theaters but being stuck having to watch stuff like James and the Giant Peach and the Indian in the Cupboard because I was 9 years old. (They also came out that summer to much less fanfare.)

[TetRefine]

BTW, Clueless came out 20 years ago today, Blue. Let that sink in. God, we're old. I still remember wanting badly to see it in the movie theaters but being stuck having to watch stuff like James and the Giant Peach and the Indian in the Cupboard because I was 9 years old. (They also came out that summer to much less fanfare.)

 

You are complaining about having to watch Indian In The Cupboard? That movie was awesome, as was the book. I probably read it 3-4 times as a kid. 

[methodwriter85]

No, actually, I loved the movie, but I was a precocious 9-year old who really, really wanted to see teen movies in the theater instead of little kid stuff, and my 12/13 year old sisters were spending that summer at the Jersey Shore with a family friend instead of at home so I couldn't get them to take me to see it.

 

It's funny, at home I could watch whatever I wanted, but I didn't get to see a PG-13 movie by myself in the theater until I saw Volcano in 1997 when I was 11.

 

Anyway, back to the topic...in this episode of Tom Explores Los Angeles, our intrepid explorer tackles the Salton Sea, and in-land lake that was accidentally created in 1905, had success as a resort in the 1950's, and is now facing extinction as California will no longer be required to replenish it after 2017.

 

 

That would be a great setting for a horror movie. Wow. Here's another video on it:

 

 

I learned about this place on a History Channel documentary on it a couple of years ago. Have any of you ever been there?

Edited July 20, 2015 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

Here's another spooky Let's Not Meet story, this time set in Turnbull Canyon:

 

Stalkers in the Canyon

 

About four years ago I was a junior at a small college in LA county. Bordering my town was a large cavernous region known as Turnbull Canyon. It’s the kind of place that has a healthy amount of creepy folklore surrounding it; with an area emphatically known as ‘Hells Gates’, stories of cultic activity, gang killings, abandoned mental institutions and the like. The kind of shit you hear about any place old enough to have a reputation.

In reality, most of the stories were spurned from a tragedy that occurred years prior. A woman’s body was found at the base of the canyon, and from then on the rest is history. Nevertheless, when a photographer friend asked me and another buddy to go out to the canyon in order to take some photos of the LA skyline, I had to oblige.

 

The canyon was about a 30 minute drive from our campus, and we had been listening to The King of Limbs the entire drive, which proved to be the perfect ambiance to get me feeling pretty anxious about our little excursion. I should also note that I’m a pretty anxious guy in general, so traveling out to a remote area preceded by its reputation for scary occurrences admittedly had me thinking twice about the decision.

 

At the top of the canyon, there’s a small residential area — a few ritzy houses, surrounded by trees and woods. In order to venture into the canyon itself, you have to follow a main trail with several smaller arteries that split off in other directions, but ultimately culminate (after a couple miles or so) at the base of a steep hill adorned with an old water tower overlooking the city.

 

Anyhow, we parked our car at the top of the canyon road, divvied up the camera gear, and made our way out to the trail head (around 1am by this point). After walking the trail for about 5 minutes, Dave, the photographer, decided it was time to set up his first shot while Jeff (our other friend) and I kept watch. Eventually he got the shot he needed and we continued walking for another 5 or so minutes before Dave decided to set up his next shot.

 

At this point the trail head had disappeared behind us completely, and we were a little less than a quarter of the way to the water tower. While setting up the tripod, we noticed the faint glow of headlights off in the distance, which was strange because the trail isn’t meant for cars, nor is it big enough for them to pass through. If I recall, it’s only about 5 feet wide, with shrubbery on both sides. This was clearly a bit of a red flag for us as we were the only people out there, so we immediately packed up our things and ducked off into the brush, waiting for the car to pass on.

 

Eventually, an old pick-up truck idled to a stop about 50 yards from where we were hiding. The truck itself was old and rickety, sitting on a lifted chassis, the bed of which was missing entirely. Growing up in the country, I knew it as the type of truck typically owned by backwoods folk who lived in the boonies and preferred to be left to their own devices.

 

We watched in agonizing anticipation as the truck just idled in place for several minutes before flooring it down one of the other trails, the roar of the engine echoing throughout the canyon. Clearly we were spooked at this point, the three of us speculating as to our next step. Jeff and I were reluctant to continue, while Dave assured us that it was probably nothing — perhaps just a guy off-roading, as he put it.

 

So, with great reluctance, Jeff and I trudged on behind Dave toward the water-tower to get his final shots. Nevertheless, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off about the truck. I mean, I knew plenty people in high school who would go ‘off-roading’ for fun in the woods, but never on finicky canyon trails barely wide enough to hike on, let alone drive. It just didn’t sit right with me.

 

After walking without interference for about an hour, we finally made it out to the water tower, climbed the hill to the top, and took in the view of the city. Dave, once again, started setting up his equipment while Jeff and I stood on both sides of the water tower, keeping watch just in case the truck came back. Nothing. At this point it’s around 3 am. Dave decides that he’s got all the shots he needs, so we pack up our equipment and commit to heading back before it gets too late, seeing as how all of us have classes in just a few hours.

 

Just as we’re preparing to descend the hill, the truck comes roaring out of the canyon below us, back onto the trail, at which point the driver attempts to climb the hill, revving the engine loudly. Scared shitless, the three of us slid off the side of the hill into the brush, clinging to plants and rocks. As the truck finally made it atop the hill, slowly driving around the tower, we could see the glow of the head lights each time it circled above us.

 

After waiting for nearly 10 minutes (while also trying not to make any noise) the truck eventually descended the hill, stopping in the middle of the trail not more than 100 yards away. We watched as a scruffy man, mid 50’s, stepped out of the idling truck and into the glow of its headlights, moseying around while looking at the ground. He then knelt down, looking at something in the dirt, surveying the area intently. As he did so, it became increasingly apparent that he was tracking something: Our footprints. This next part still chills me to the bone.

 

As my friends and I huddled together watching in complete terror, another man wearing a long, dark parka emerged from the brush, right where we had been hiking, joining the other man at his side. Apparently he had been out there the entire time we were walking the trail, just watching us. Following behind at a safe distance. The two of them talked for a long while, but we couldn’t hear a word. They continued scanning the area, looking at our footprints, but eventually got in the truck and drove off down one of the forks in the trail.

 

We sat in silence for a long time — waiting nearly two hours just to ensure the coast was clear, at which point we made like hell back to the car, down the canyon, and back to our campus. Just in time for class.

 

I have no idea who those men were or why they were tracking us — and I have no desire to know. So on that note fellas, lets not meet again.

 

***

 

It's tales like this that makes me terrified of being out in the wilderness. Great tale, though.

 

Have any of you had any creepy/scary encounters in the California wilderness?

Edited August 5, 2015 by methodwriter85

[PrivateTim]

I mean, I'd ask Tim, but it seems relatively new, and his college days were in the 1990's. Like I said, I didn't encounter "slapping the bag" until 2012 at Firefly. Most bro-types I know didn't touch boxed wine but this seems to be a way that those guys will consume it.

 

As if any of my fraternity brothers, 40 miles south of the Napa Valley, was going to drink a box wine. We brushed our teeth with Stag's Leap and used Grgich Hills to wash our cars.......

 

 

I learned about this place on a History Channel documentary on it a couple of years ago. Have any of you ever been there?

 

Once, God knows why......  but we can smell it from our Palm Desert home when the wind blows the wrong way.

Have any of you had any creepy/scary encounters in the California wilderness?

 

I had a college class in folklore legends....  which this sounds like.

 

Some really cool ones here:

 

Folk Tales

[methodwriter85]

Was the whole "swideswept" bangs look, aka the Zac Efron/later on Justin Beiber, popular in California in 2003, or was that more 2004/2005? I can't remember seeing it here until around 2006.

 

 

I do remember that short, spiky hair was falling out of favor in 2003 and guys started growing their hair out. By 2005, I remember seeing what I deemed the "early 80's winged haircut" around a lot.

[methodwriter85]

Is Vineyard Vines popular in California, or is it just an East Coast thing? Vineyard Vines is hitting hard right now where I'm from.

 

Edited August 17, 2015 by methodwriter85

[PrivateTim]

Is Vineyard Vines popular in California, or is it just an East Coast thing? Vineyard Vines is hitting hard right now where I'm from.

 

No, but Red Vines are!

 

[methodwriter85]

No, but Red Vines are!

 

 

Twizzlers pull and peel. Nuff said.

 

Anyway, Tim, I've always kind of seen you as a guy who would rock the hell out of that preppy man look- boat shoes, some chino shorts, and Vineyard Vines pastel polo shirts.

[Mark Arbour]

Twizzlers pull and peel. Nuff said.

 

Anyway, Tim, I've always kind of seen you as a guy who would rock the hell out of that preppy man look- boat shoes, some chino shorts, and Vineyard Vines pastel polo shirts.

 

Yeah Tim.  That is so you. 

[methodwriter85]

To take another "tack", check out "Jude" and "Connor" at 2015 L.A. Gay Pride:

 

 

God, it really awesome to see two straight young boys who are comfortable enough with themselves to do a gay storyline in a way that feels really authentic. As opposed to Kerr Smith, who was in his late 20's playing a 17-year old gay boy that made him a star and then gave an interview about how straight he is and how he hates having to kiss dudes (but accepts that he only has to do it once a year) and how two guys kissing isn't really something young teenagers need to see.

[methodwriter85]

Quiznos just did an add where they parodied the Maze Runner and Burning Man. I thought it was hilarious although I've never been to Burning Man. Check it out:

 

 

I still don't get the point of Burning Man if there's no music.

 

Also, I get this is actually Nevada but it seems like a big thing for Californians.

 

I honestly can't picture any of the CAP characters going to something like Burning Man. I'd imagine them at Coachella first. (Given that there's, you know, an actual point to it?)

Edited September 17, 2015 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

One of my friends from high school who lives in L.A. now posted a photo of the L.A. River, which made me want to post more about it...check out this new video about the city's plans to revitalize it:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=12&v=acJjuBmQ43U

 

Here's a YouTube tour video of the river:

 

 

Well, not exactly bucolic, but there's something pretty cool about it. I would totally go on a tour of the L.A. River., and have some interesting adventures.

Edited September 27, 2015 by methodwriter85